Most Recent: News

Rumor: Internal Xbox 720 memo outs 2013 release, Kinect V2, AR glasses, cloud gaming

Posted on June 16, 2012 by John Scalzo

UPDATE: The memo has been removed from Scribd at the request of Microsoft’s lawyers. While this move certainly lends credence to the “It’ real!” theory, it also makes perfect sense for Microsoft to remove a fake as well.

A 56-page memo that is purported to be an internal memo detailing their plans for the next Xbox has surfaced on Scribd. The document is pretty consistent with previous reports about what the Xbox 720 will contain. There’s just one problem, the document continuously refers to the system as the “Xbox 720,” which Microsoft executives have gone out of their way to avoid using.

Does that mean its fake? Not necessarily. But here’s what it claims:

  • The Xbox 720 will launch in 2013 at $299. The system itself will be “six times” more powerful than the current Xbox 360 and include a Blu-ray drive, native 3D support, a built-in DVR, and hardware-based backwards compatibility with Xbox 360 games.
  • The system will also be bundled with a more advanced version of the Kinect sensor (Kinect V2).
  • The console will also feature tablet-enhanced gaming, which echoes their E3 announcement of Xbox SmartGlass.
  • “Fortaleza” augmented reality glasses will be available in 2014.
  • And Cloud-based gaming on “any screen” will be available in 2015.

As I said, it’s not necessarily fake. And the extensive focus on Kinect titles over all else is a pretty good indicator that it’s real. But it’s also old (2011 is considered the future throughout the memo) and who knows if it’s anything more than a bored intern’s busywork.

E3 2013 will be very interesting, that’s all we really know for sure.

Posted in News, Xbox One |

New Releases: Pokemon Conquest, Lego Batman 2, Brave, More

Posted on June 16, 2012 by John Scalzo

This week’s new releases are for the kids as Pokemon Conquest (that wild Pokemon/Nobunaga’s Ambition crossover on the DS), Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (3DS, DS, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Xbox 360), and the game adaptation of Pixar’s Brave (DS, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360) will all be available in stores this Tuesday.

Also available this week is the Kinect-powered Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor and an all new Civ V expansion, Civilization V: Gods and Kings.

Hit the jump for a complete look at this week’s new releases. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , ,

that(multiplatform)gamecompany… new funding leads to new opportunities

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie

The geniuses behind Flow, Flower, and, most recently, Journey have announced today that they have raised enough funding to allow them to develop and release their games independent of Sony Computer Entertainment America, with whom they have now concluded their three-game deal.

Jenova Chen, founder and CEO of thatgamecompany, confirmed that the new investment of $5.5 million comes from Benchmark Capital, specifically Mitch Lasky, who has been a long supporter of Chen.

Lasky spoke to VentureBeat about his new partnership: “Jenova has a chance to be the John Lasseter [head of Pixar] of the video games business. I feel privileged to be riding shotgun with him. The ambitions for thatgamecompany are very exciting to me… We are at a point in the video game industry that the industry is hollowed out. It is out of touch with the zeitgeist, creating sequels and formulaic games over and over again. The energy comes from the indies.”

Lasky has also helped find funding for Riot Games, makers of the free-to-play League of Legends, as well as Meteor Entertainment, which is making the free-to-play game Hawken, due for release later this year.

While there was no specific details about thatgamecompany’s next title, Chen did reveal that the game is in development, and that it will be a cross-platform affair: “We got so many emails from fans saying they wished they could play our games on other platforms. We make games for human beings, not just gamers. Young, old, men, women, and from all countries. We want to change the concept of what a game is and show society what a game can be.”

Posted in News, PS3 |

Daily Scoop: June 15, 2012 – The many masks

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Well, I woke up this morning thinking it was Saturday, and I was bummed out to discover it was only Friday! But at least the weekend is a few hours closer. I hope to catch up on some sleep and chores! Well, I mean, I’d rather be gaming and writing, but sometimes you need to take out the trash, if you know what I’m saying.

Amazon’s got some solid downloadable PC deals right now – you can get Risen for $5.99, Dead Island for $11.99, or The Darkness II for $12.49. Best Buy is having some sales on games as well – you can get Dirt 3 for 50% off (if you’re a Reward Zone member, that is). They’ve also got an extensive sale list, including games like FIFA Soccer 12 ($39.99), Battlefield 3 ($39.99), and Mortal Kombat ($29.99). Scoop ’em up!

Just one gaming t-shirt today: (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 |

Diablo III named best-selling game of May 2012 after collecting a ton of loot

Posted on June 15, 2012 by John Scalzo

Can you guess the best-selling game of May 2012 according to The NPD Group’s monthly calculations? Go on, guess, it’s not really a mystery… The best-selling game of May 2012 was Blizzard’s Diablo III.

Diablo III’s loot frenzy was the lone bright spot for the game industry this month as total sales were down 28% from May 2011 with console hardware taking the biggest hit (a 39% drop).

But that’s not for lack of trying. A ton of new releases broke into the top ten this month including Max Payne 3 (#2), Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (#3), Sniper Elite V2 (#7), and Dragon’s Dogma (#9). But I guess they didn’t put up the sales numbers to compete with last May’s biggest game, L.A. Noire.

The complete top ten can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Resident Evil: Retribution trailer claims “Milla Jovovich in 3D,” not sure about rest of cast

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie

A new trailer has hit for the fifth (and possibly final) live-action Resident Evil film, Resident Evil: Retribution. Director and producer Paul W.S. Anderson keeps churning them out alongside spousal superhero clone (or is it the original?) Alice, who was clearly absent the day the cool character names were handed out, such as Michelle Rodriguez’s Rain Ocampo or Colin Salmon’s James “One” Shade.

But wait, didn’t they, like, totally die in the first film? Indeed, but they are back like a bad case of crabs. The trailer suggests their return is prompted through a mix of false memories in Alice’s very pretty head, and possibly cloning. Other fan favourites returning are Carlos Oliviera, played by the suave Oded Fehr, Sienna Gilroy as Jill Valentine, Boris Kodjoe as Luther West, and Shawn Roberts as Albert Wesker.

Maing their live action debut are Resident Evil 4 protagonists Leon Kennedy, played by Johann Urb, and the sexy Ada Wong, played by the amazingly named Bingbing Li. However, their addition will most likely make we wish they had had just made a film version of that game instead of continuing the ridiculous, nonsensical storyline from the last four films.

Expect a barrage of bullets, axes, grenades and other assorted weaponry to come flying at your face in 3D when the film is released on September 14th in North America and Canada. The UK and Australia will have to wait anther two and four weeks respectively to get their Resident Evil on.

Posted in Etcetera, News | Tagged

Neversoft has been drafted to develop a Call of Duty game

Posted on June 15, 2012 by John Scalzo

Activision has recruited another one of their internal teams to work on the Call of Duty franchise. This time it’s Neversoft, the developer formerly repsonsible for the Tony Hawk series and the non-Harmonix Guitar Hero games. Neversoft is now the fifth team connected to the Call of Duty franchise, joining Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Raven Software, and Sledgehammer Games.

The news comes from Neversoft’s Careers page, which features multiple job listings connected to their new project including a Single-Player Level Designer, Multiplayer Level Designer, and Senior Environment Artist.

But the real question is, what Call of Duty game is Neversoft working on? Treyarch is the lone developer behind Call of Duty: Black Ops II while Sledgehammer and Raven currently share DLC duties for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Infinity Ward is working on an unannounced “next generation game” that may or may not be Call of Duty 10.

So where does that leave Neversoft’s game? The way I see it, there are three options:

1. Neversoft is the currently unnamed developer behind the Vita-exclusive Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified. Or…
2. They’ve been handed the recently rumored Wii U port of Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Or…
3. They’re developing the current generation port of Call of Duty 10.

I suppose there’s a fourth option, but that would involve the announcement of yet another Call of Duty game.

Posted in News |

Penny Arcade 3’s release moved up to June 25

Posted on June 14, 2012 by John Scalzo

Zeboyd Games is pulling a Saturn! Two weeks ago, the indie developer announced that Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 would be released on July 10. In that time, they finished the game and got it approved for release on Steam and Xbox Live Indie Games. So they’ve pushed up the release to June 25 instead!

Jerry “Tycho” Holkins dropped the happy news on the Penny Arcade homepage yesterday:

“On The Rain-Slick Precipice Of Darkness: Episode 3 was well received at E3, which is nice, because we tried desperately to bring about that very result. We’re committed to releasing it “When It’s Done” as they say, and it is done, so waiting until July seems dumb. How does the 25th sound, for Steam and XBLIG? Zeboyd is throwing in Cthulhu Saves The World for Steam purchases in the first week, which I thought was sweet of them. The ports are… porting, EVEN NOW, and the PC version will have SteamPlay when Mac goes live.”

Holkins also promised that a new trailer would be released on Monday, so keep your eyes peeled for that sure bit of awesomeness next week.

Posted in News, PC, Xbox 360 | Tagged